12/03/2025
And for a real blast from the past:
This is from 2006! Before I knew much about editing:) also very long. But worth watching to the end to see all the toys! ( the link to the 2006 video is at the bottom of this also very long post! ) So very grateful to Lindsey, Tracy, Nancy and all the other wonderful islanders who are keeping this tradition going.
If you don't know the history of how it started in 1999 please read on : You might enjoy this story that my daughter had written for school:( btw: that first year was waaay before that thing called the internet, so Jeanne and I roller- bladed around the whole island leaving flyers as the only way to let people know our plan- and I have to admit -that first year we didn't do quite as well as the story describes- some of the stops didn't have anyone and we only collected about a thousand that first year- a little artistic license was used in the writing )
Santa’s Island Ride
On Florida’s west coast, there is a little neighborhood called Davis Islands, three connecting islands where all the streets are named after bodies of water.
About fifteen years ago, on a night in early December, mysterious wooden signs appeared at different points around the islands.
The children of the island were curious and excited to find out the meaning of these signs. The signs stood about two feet high, painted in red and green, and showed a small child handing a gift to a smiling Santa. Each one said ”Santa Stop”, with a number, from one to twenty. A few days later, an explanation came in the form of a flyer delivered to each house by a young child and her mother and her aunt.
The flyer was addressed to the children and explained that Santa would be coming to their street on December 10th and asking for their help. This year there were so many less fortunate children and Santa was worried he would run out of toys and gifts. He wanted to make sure that no child would be going without a gift to open on Christmas morning. Could they please help Santa, and have a brand new, unwrapped toy, ready for Santa when he came? Would they wait with their neighbors at one of the “Santa Stops” closest to their house? There was a separate note for parents on the back, asking them to shop for gifts and explaining the Toy Drive in detail.
My Mom and my Aunt Jeanne thought this toy drive up, and it’s the story of how we make our own community better, by making Christmas wonderful for all.
When my Aunt Jeanne first had this brainstorm, she asked my mom and I for help and we thought the idea was brilliant and agreed right away. With some artist friends, and helper elves, we built and painted a giant sleigh and eight life sized reindeer, including Rudolph with a light –up nose!
Right on the island is a wonderful ice cream shop owned by Dennis, a roly-poly cheerful guy.
Aunt Jeanne asked Dennis to be our Santa, and he said yes immediately.
Now we had our Santa, and Santa had his transportation. We were ready to go. However, would anyone show up, we wondered? Would children and their parents be waiting at the Santa Stops with toys for Santa?
As it turned out, the families shopped all week for special toys and gifts.
Some filled giant bags with dolls, games, and stuffed animals. Some bought sports equipment and there were even a few brand new bicycles!
Early on December 10th, the children and families walked to the closest “Santa Stop” with the wonderful presents they had picked out with care. At Santa Stop Number One there were more than 40 small children waiting, and they too were wondering, would Santa really come to their street so early in December? Did he really need their help? They were giddy with anticipation! Suddenly they heard singing in the distance…”Here comes Santa, here comes Santa, right down Channel drive!”
Around the corner came an amazing sight- Santa and his reindeer lit up with hundreds of Christmas lights. Leading the way were my mom, my aunt, and I in our decorated convertible, singing through a giant bullhorn. A big cheer from all the kids and their parents sounded through the street, and the children jumped up and down with joy.
We were smiling from ear to ear as we jumped out of the car. The children lined up and took turns handing their gifts to Santa, while the parents took pictures. The littlest children were amazed that Santa knew their favorite ice cream flavor, while the older ones thought they recognized Dennis’s twinkly eyes.
“Ho, h, ho”, Dennis/ Santa finally called out. “We have more Santa Stops to make and more toys to collect, so Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Every single Santa Stop had dozens of children waiting with piles of presents for Santa. The event was going better than we had even dreamed. The children were filled with the happiness that “giving back” brings.
The caravan made its way past the palm trees, over the little bridges that connected the islands and over the canals, and the cheers of the children could be heard all through the night.
By the time Santa and his sleigh reached Santa Stop Number Twenty, some of the sleepy but still excited children were in P.J’s. After loading the last haul into the sleigh, my mom and Aunt Jeanne and I (and some extra elves acquired along the ride) headed back to my garage.
We sorted, organized, and counted the gifts –there were over three thousand!
The next day we called twenty charities that help children and told them the Davis Islands children had collected gifts for them, just in time for their Christmas parties.
This year Santa’s Davis Islands Ride will celebrate its 15th anniversary! The event is even better now- the children of the island help with the flyers and keep track of where Santa is on his route. Residents can actually follow us that night on “Twitter”. The Islanders now organize huge block parties with food and music, enjoying and getting to know their neighbors while they wait for Santa. A firefighter comes along, who stores the presents in his big fire truck, so we don’t have to make extra runs to my house to unload. Some children climb up into the fire truck for a holiday picture. Reporters have come along as well and covered the event for newspapers and TV.
Some charities say if it were not for the toy drive, they would not have enough presents to go around.
All year long, the children can enjoy the “Santa Book” at the ice cream parlor where they can see pictures of the children opening the gifts, and read all the thank-you letters from the charities. The charities now call us in October to find out when to expect the gifts, and every year we get calls about specific families that really need our help.
Other communities in the area have copied the idea and started their own “Santa Ride”, either borrowing the Davis Island sleigh, or building their own.
So, why not start a “Santa Ride in your hometown? There is a video on YouTube that shows the Santa Ride in all its Holiday glory.
You will see, it’s easy, it is so much fun, and you’ll feel so good as you see that “the greatest gift is giving back"
Scenes from the Davis Islands Toy Drive 2009
